The Professional Advisors Planned Giving Committee is comprised of key Forever Team members who will help donors navigate and create their Catholic legacies.
Life is a journey filled with twists, turns, and unexpected surprises. Amidst these changes, having a solid end-of-life plan in place can provide stability and peace of mind. However, as circumstances evolve, it’s essential to adapt and ensure that your plan remains aligned with your family and faith goals. Some people need help in understanding the steps needed to put their Catholic legacy in place.
Recognizing this need, the Catholic Foundation has created a Professional Advisors Planned Giving Committee to help Catholics across the Diocese navigate this process. Committee members consist of professional advisors with various expertise. They come from different regions of the Diocese of Allentown and lead workshops for Catholic Foundation partners. They answer questions about end-of-life issues such as power of attorney selection, executors, wills, estate taxes, and planned giving.
How Does the Professional Advisors Planned Giving Committee Help Catholic Donors?
“Our Professional Advisors Planned Giving Committee members are planned giving superheroes,” Pete Waldron, president of the Catholic Foundation, said. “They help take the guess work out of various end-of-life issues and make it as stress free as possible.”
The Catholic Foundation has been conducting workshops with professional advisors for its partners during the past four years. The Catholic Foundation recently expanded and formalized the committee about six months ago. This pioneering concept of the “Forever Team” has emerged to help individuals navigate life’s transitions with confidence and ease.
“Our goal is for people to enjoy creating their own Catholic legacy to support the Catholic causes they have loved their whole life,” Waldron said. “Offering our partners a team of experts has helped make an often-complex topic simpler.”
The 4 Key Pillars of Expertise on Professional Advisors Planned Giving Committee
The Forever Team is a multidisciplinary approach to planning that brings together a diverse array of professional advisors to support individuals and families at every stage of their journey. At the core of the Forever Team are four key pillars of expertise: an estate planning attorney, a financial planner, a certified public accountant (CPA), and the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania (CFEP). The role each pillar plays is invaluable.
- Estate Planning Attorney: The attorney plays a crucial role in estate planning, ensuring that legal documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney are in place to protect your assets and legacy. They also provide guidance on matters such as guardianship, healthcare directives, and asset distribution, offering peace of mind knowing that your wishes will be honored.
- Financial Planner: A financial planner helps you chart a course for your financial future, taking into account your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. They assist in creating investment strategies, retirement planning, tax-efficient wealth management, and ensuring that your financial resources are aligned with your long-term objectives.
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA): The CPA brings expertise in tax planning and compliance, helping you optimize your tax situation while ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations. They provide valuable insights into tax-efficient strategies for wealth preservation, charitable giving, and maximizing tax benefits for your financial plan.
- Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania (CFEP): As a public charitable organization dedicated to supporting the Catholic community, CFEP offers philanthropic solutions to help you leave a lasting legacy that aligns with your values and beliefs. Whether through a gift in a will, a beneficiary designation, donor-advised funds, or other planned giving strategies, the Catholic Foundation empowers you to make a meaningful impact on causes you care about while receiving potential tax benefits.
By assembling a Forever Team comprised of these four essential areas of expertise, individuals and families can proactively address the complexities of life’s changes and ensure that their plans evolve accordingly. Whether navigating major life events such as marriage, parenthood, career transitions, retirement or death, the Forever Team provides comprehensive support and guidance every step of the way.
Embracing life’s changes becomes less daunting when you have a dedicated team of professionals by your side, working together to help you achieve your goals and aspirations. With the Forever Team, you can approach life’s journey with confidence, knowing that you have a robust plan in place and a team of experts committed to your success.
“Professional advisors are an avenue to educate people about the value of planned giving in general and explain the various ways people can give, particularly by including the Catholic Foundation in their estate plans. Attorneys, financial advisors, accounts, and funeral directors, all play a role in creating a comprehensive estate plan and by including them in the discussion, donors will be better able to help their Catholic causes in many different ways.”
Beth Beers, Attorney, Professional Advisors Committee Chair
